STATE WIDE WATERWAY AND WETLAND CONDITION ASSESSMENTS

Client:

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (previously DEPI, DSE)

location:

Victoria

overview

Water Technology has been involved in two major State wide projects assessing the condition of waterways and wetlands across Victoria for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). These projects provide a State wide snapshot of condition to determine the progress made towards condition targets and to assist in the setting of priorities for action to improve or protect these natural assets. These projects have also been driven by Regional, State, National and International reporting obligations.

Victorian State Wide Rivers LiDAR Project
DSE recently developed a method to assess components of the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) using LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) in conjunction with aerial imagery. Water Technology was commissioned to provide the ground validation assessment of remotely derived riparian vegetation and physical form ISC condition metrics. This involved detailed field assessment and analysis of 200 validation sites across the 26,000km of Victoria’s ISC stream network.

State Wide Index of Wetland Condition (IWC)
More than 350 wetlands were assessed by Water Technology staff across the State in collaboration with the relevant Catchment Management Authorities. All field assessment data, mapping and photographs were collated and entered into the online IWC Data Management System (IWCDMS). This important project has provided the first State wide ‘baseline’ condition assessment of wetlands across Victoria.